It didn't take long for her to launch into action, despite her inexperience, Perfect Warrior gave knowledge on melee combat. Nothing to match those with decades of experience, but they were wheat to her metaphorical scythe. She swung at the noble first, a vertical slash with her right blade that split him and his horse down the middle. The left decapitated three unlucky enough to be close. It was then the soldiers began to react.

The open helmed soldier swung at her head, but with the right blade embedded in the ground, she grabbed the blade with her right hand. He only had a moment to realize his mistake before she shattered the blade. Grabbing his chest plate, she threw him far across the village. Her torso pivoted left with the throw to allow her left blade to slash another two soldiers across the chest. She felt a blade hit her back and shatter, the soldier letting out an exclamation at the unexpected result. Scoffing in annoyance she reached back with her free hand, grabbing the soldier by his head and bringing him to her front.

She looked around at the other soldiers for a moment, each one hesitant to attack. The one in her grip punched at her arm, she began to squeeze his helmet. A couple other soldiers tried to get her arm off him, but their efforts were in vain. With a simple flex of her strength, the helmet and skull within it were crushed. The soldiers backed off a bit, giving her time to grab the right blade. She stepped between the soldiers and village again, embedding both blades into the ground. As she rested her hands on the pommel of the blades, she spoke.

"This is your only warning, leave or die." The voice was far graver than before, enough to snap her out of whatever happened. She looked with her eyes at the carnage, it was only around half a dozen killed, but the swiftness definitely gave hesitation to the much larger group. " What just happened? I know I got angry, but this didn't feel like me." She thought with a frown, it was something she definitely needed to think about later.

Despite the initial hesitation, the soldiers soon gathered their wits and prepared to attack again. It's only one person, and they still have their mission. Though as they begin to move, an arrow flies out of nowhere and pierces three of the soldiers. They pull out shields to defend, but they prove useless as two more take down another six soldiers. With grouping up being a waste of time, the remaining soldiers split up so not as many could be killed. They started heading towards the village, knowing the knight couldn't stop them all.

Enri had a feeling who the not so mysterious archer was, she grabbed her blades and began to attack. With blades like hers there only required a single slash to cut through each of them. A step launched her around the area, catching those who thought themselves safe off guard. There were a few she missed, but a blue and white blur seemed to catch the stragglers. The whole ordeal didn't take long to finish, she and the twins were much more powerful than the theocracy could've prepared them for.

XxxXxxXxxX

After getting the blood off and sheathing her swords, the twins joined her in the village square. Enri was a bit surprised to see the two looking older than they did before, though the doppelganger ring on their fingers explained why. Aura reached Enri's chest in height, having a more toned build with emphasis on her thighs to show off her beast tamer and ranger skills. Her outfit was similar to her old one, with the vest showing off her midriff and her pants were replaced with a skirt and stockings. Her hair was only a bit longer, reaching her shoulders.

Enri was lucky she wore a helmet, because she knew her face would be best red at seeing Mare. He was a bit taller than his sister, reaching Enri's shoulders. Like Aura his outfit was similar to the original, but now he wore pants. There was also extra armor, mainly a pair of gauntlets and boots, both were a white silver with blue vine decor wrapping around them. A closer look showed that there was some armor beneath the vest, making his shoulders look broader. His hair was much longer, tied up in a ponytail and still reaching the middle of his back. His build was hidden within his outfit and armor, but there was a hint of his hips clinging to his pants.

She wondered for a moment where their weapons were, but stopped as she saw the chief of the village step out of his home. He kept up a brave face as he stepped around a body, she felt a bit bad for making a mess, but it was better them than those she knew. He stopped a couple meters away from her, looking up to her helmet before speaking. "I thank you for protecting our village, though I hope you don't mind me asking why." He looked a bit uncomfortable as he spoke, looking around a bit at the bodies.

Enri understood his reasoning, if it wasn't for the fact she was the one doing it, she'd probably be cowering somewhere with Nemu in her arms. She gave a slight nod "I understand your concerns, I had simply noticed a lot of smoke in the air, from what I assumed was burning villages. I thought they'd probably show up here, so I waited." As she finished speaking she noticed he didn't seem much calmer. " Not surprising, I just said what I told the soldiers."

After a moment of thought, she continued talking. "Though it wasn't for free, I don't think I could bring myself to ask for money, but information would be very helpful." Aura and Mare looked a bit confused while the chief looked relieved. " I can hit two birds with one stone with this, help the villagers relax, and have someone else explain everything to Aura and Mare." Enri had a small smile as the four of them entered the Chief's house.

As they did the Chief turned and asked, "So what is it you need to know?" He had a slightly raised brow, before turning as he saw his wife exit the bedroom.

"Everything you know if it isn't too much to ask," Enri replied, though at the more numerous confused looks she explained. "We've been living deep in the forest for many years to hone our skills, but in turn we know nothing of the current world." Thankfully the chief nodded in understanding, letting Aura and Mare sit at the table before he and his wife did. Enri declined taking the wife's seat, since she figured standing behind the twins would give off a better impression.

From there the chief went over everything he knew about the surrounding kingdoms and what he knew of Re-Estize. It was stuff Enri was familiar with, since she typically spent her free time learning of the world. Aura looked polite and attentive, but it was clear she wasn't interested in anything. Mare took the information in more readily, asking questions about certain things as their talk went on.

Eventually Enri excused herself to both deal with the bodies, and make sure there wasn't anyone else coming. It hadn't taken long to get the bodies moved into the forest, and after making sure the scouts and the only soldier she spared hadn't gotten away, she saw a cloud of dust in the distance. She knew it was Gazeff, so she just walked back to the chief's house to let them know of the new arrivals. He was understandably panicked, but her calm demeanor helped him as the four headed to meat the new arrivals.

XxxXxxXxxX

It had been a couple weeks since Gazeff had left the capital with his soldiers, sent to deal with a group of Baharuth soldiers. Morale had already been low after the nobles had the kingdom's treasures taken from him, but each and every destroyed village left even him doubting the purpose of this mission. Though as he made his way towards Carne village, he was surprised to find no smoke, or any destroyed buildings. There were even a few people waiting by the village, one looked like a villager, while the others were more like adventurers.

As they reached a dozen meters from the group, Gazef signalled his men to halt. The adventurers didn't seem hostile, and while shaken up, the villager seemed fine in their company. He moved up till stopping a few meters away, he kept both hands on the rein to show he isn't looking for a fight. "I am the Warrior Captain Gazef Stronoff, I had been ordered by the king to hunt down a group of Baharuth knights attacking the surrounding villages."

Who Gazef now assumed to be the village chief had a more relieved face, giving his thanks for their efforts. He gave a passing glance to the surrounding area after, noticing the blood that hadn't been as obvious on their arrival. It didn't take much to figure out what happened, even if the lack of bodies was a bit strange. "It seems the thanks is better placed in the hands of the adventurers by your side, would you mind introducing them?"

Before the chief could speak, the one in black armor spoke first. "That won't be necessary, I am Momon and these are my companions, Aura and Mare." As he spoke, the two dark elves each gave a wave as their names were mentioned. Aura's was a casual wave, she seemed relaxed, but her eyes kept a constant surveillance. Mixed with her less restricting clothes, he pinned her as a ranger.

The one introduced as Mare gave a small shy wave, despite his more feminine look Gazef could tell he was male. His armor was sparse, but covered parts people tended to target on magic users. He couldn't tell what kind of magic they used, but every form was dangerous in the right hands, so it didn't matter. Similar to Aura, his shy demeanor was only a cover. They were two people he didn't want to be on the bad side of, not even mentioning their leader.

The one who called themselves Momon was certainly a cut above the rest, literally with how much taller he was. The armor cut an intimidating visage, and the massive blades only added to it. In contrast, his voice sounded calm and in control of the situation. He could see the dynamic of their team, even without them being in combat. He could only hope they become official adventurers, the kingdom always needed more. Perhaps he could give a letter of recommendation, it's only fair since they handled the knights.

Before his thoughts could continue, one of his men rode up to him. He recognized them as the one he sent off to look around the village in case the knights were still around. They looked rather panicked, but only spent a moment to collect themselves before speaking. "There are casters surrounding the village, dozens of them!" Now that wasn't right, there were said to be knights, but even the empire wouldn't send so many magic casters. He had a feeling there might be more to this than originally thought.

He looked at Momon, who sent Aura and Mare to gather the villagers into the storage building. The village chief followed suit, and the knight gestured towards the closest house. "Would probably be better if we didn't stay out in the open for too long." He said, and Gazef couldn't agree more. After giving his men orders to be on high alert, the warrior captain followed Momon into the house. The last thing he saw before entering was Mare casting protection spells on the building the villagers were in.

XxxXxxXxxX

Gazef spent his time looking out the window, watching as the casters summoned angels. Momon was with Aura and Mare near the table, they were discussing something he didn't pay much attention to. They already agreed to help, so it was just a matter of waiting. He didn't understand it, but Aura had said something about raising them high so the fall would hurt more. " So this is what it's truly like to be strong?" He thought with a hint of bitterness. Not at the adventurers, of course not, but at his kingdom.

XxxXxxXxxX

The two stepped into the house, Gazef had figured with the slight elevation the house had, that they'd use the better vantage and cover to plan a coordinated attack. He didn't have all his soldiers, but the few would be enough with the right assistance from the adventurers. Aura and Mare walked in a few moments later, the latter looking out the window and giving a slight eyebrow raise at the summoned angels.

"Have you not seen holy summons before?" Gazef asked, he hadn't known what the boy used, but it seemed he didn't use divine magic.

"I have, just wondering why they're using such weak ones." Mare replied, leaning a hip against the table. "It would be much more efficient to summon Thrones to trap everyone in the village, then summon a Seraph so it can use its Holy Legion ability to summon an army of Principalities."

Gazef couldn't find it in himself to understand what was just said, so with a slight shake of his head, he spoke what was on the forefront of his mind. "I can't help but notice the calm atmosphere in here despite the situation, am I to assume you knew of this?"

"We did," Momon said, continuing before Gazef could say anything in response. "We captured a few of their scouts, found out this was orchestrated by the Slain Theocracy to kill you."

The whole situation was very grim, but Gazef couldn't find it in himself to be surprised. "Being the kingdom's head warrior tends to come with many enemies, I'm almost touched I have a few outside it as well." He chuckled, getting a glance out the window as a larger angel with a mace was summoned.

"I have the feeling that isn't entirely the case, after we handle these casters, I'm sure we could get some answers out of their leader." Momon replied, pulling out his blade to inspect its condition. "We'll just give them a bit more time before we head out, leave your men here to guard the village."

"Wouldn't it be better to strike while they're preparing?"

XxxXxxXxxX

While nothing was implied, it didn't take a genius to figure out the nobles had something to do with this. The suspicion had always been there since leaving the capital, but he assumed it was just his optimism that kept him from realizing it sooner. " Years spent protecting them and their lands, and they send me out to die." His thoughts were interrupted by the rather annoyed voice of Aura.

"Hey captain guy, ya joining us for this or not?" She asked, leaning against the door frame, Mare and Momon already outside and waiting.

After a couple blinks, Gazef just shook his head as he followed them out. "Considering that I haven't seen any of those knights, someone has to make sure you keep a few alive to be taken in." He gave a bittersweet smirk as he walked past Aura, who stuck her tongue out in response. As the four made their way towards the casters, one in particular kept an eye on them.

Nigun Grid Luin, the leader of the sunlight scripture, couldn't be more ecstatic. Despite the hiccups, Gazef still entered the village, allowing himself to be trapped in a cage of his own making. The three at his side were unfamiliar, but in the face of unbeatable odds they wouldn't matter. He smirked, there was nothing that could possibly go wrong.

/Author Notes/

Poof, another one. Don't worry though, Aura and Mare are still themselves, just decided it would probably look better if the dark imposing knight wasn't with children. Anyway, peace out people.